Flexi-Draft Provides “Perfect Pour” Solution.

In 2016, Micro Matic launched their Flexi-Draft product
to an international market. Flexi-Draft is an innovative solution for venues
that would usually be unable to provide a draft drinking experience for their
customers. It is a self-contained, mobile unit that combines refrigeration
technology with a simple to use, disposable line from the keg to the font.

To find out
the end user experience of the Flexi-Draft technology, Micro Matic recently
interviewed Scott Finlay, Bars and Events Manager at Sunderland’s Stadium of
Light football stadium. Scott oversees 14 bars with various purposes from executive
board room venues, to high throughput conventional football stadium bars. With such
an array of locations and customer requirements, Scott is always looking for
solutions to make his team of up to 200 staff more efficient.

In 2015
Scott introduced four Flexi-Draft units to his portfolio of bar equipment. He
uses one in the award winning Sunderland FC Executive Board Room, one in a
smaller 30 capacity function room and 2 flexibly so that they can be
transported to various locations within the stadium or sent to outside catering
events. The unit simply plugs into a mains electricity supply, with no
requirements for cellars, long complicated beer lines or cleaning of the
equipment. It is a truly flexible way to serve draft in many different
locations that would previously only have had bottled beer as a feasible
option.

When asked
how Scott would describe his experience of Flexi-Draft, he had nothing but
praise for the product. “We have a challenging stadium with issues such as
concrete floors, no nearby cellars, thirsty customers and very busy staff. It
is my role to make sure that the customer gets the perfect pint with as little
waiting time as possible. Introducing Flexi-Draft has been a very positive step
for our team as it genuinely provides the perfect pour. We have very demanding
customers and they appreciate a quality beer that is the correct temperature.
Flexi-Draft gives me the confidence that this can be achieved every time”.

Scott
continues, “With the Flexi-Draft units, we have almost no beer wastage at all. I
have calculated that it can cost £50 per bar to do a line clean due to the beer
wastage alone. Other costs include the water, gas, labour and cleaning
materials plus the inconvenience of the down time when my staff could be doing
other more productive things. Overall, cleaning beer lines is the biggest money
pit within my department. With Flexi-Draft, once a keg is empty, you simply
dispose of the line, fit a new one and you are ready to go. A Flexi-Draft keg
change takes seconds, whereas a line clean can take 45 minutes. I estimate a
loss of only £1-2 retail value per keg of beer with Flexi-Draft therefore the
cost savings we are making are significant. Up to £4,800 per year.

“At
Sunderland we are focused on quality but we are also keen to do our bit for the
environment so anything that can save on energy costs is of interest to us and
Flexi-Draft meets these requirements as the keg only needs to be cooled in a
smaller more efficient unit. We are also focused on maximising sales, of
course, so when things are very busy, we simply wheel in one of the Flexi-Draft
units and provide an extra point of purchase immediately.

“The outside
catering side of our business has also really benefited from Flexi-Draft. It is
great to see customers faces when they realise they can enjoy a cool draft pint
in the middle of a field or at a wedding in a marque.

“If I was
asked to name the key benefits to switching over to the Flexi-Draft unit I
would say:

1.It gives a perfect pour that I can
trust

2.Lower beer wastage therefore improved
profitability

3.Less bills for cooling the beer and
more efficiencies due to less downtime

4.Lower hassle for my staff

In summary, my
ideal bar solution would be to no longer have a cellar and with Flexi-Draft
that is finally a possibility.”

If you would
like to know more about how Flexi-Draft could help you penetrate new markets
with draft beer, please contact Michael Oates on 07771 613 721 or by email at MIO@micro-matic.co.uk You can also calculate how much you may save by visiting www.flexi-draft.com